Sanders Urges 'Independent Press That Reports the Truth Without Fear' of Trump Retribution | Common Dreams
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"If major media outlets succumb to intimidation from the Trump administration, the First Amendment is in serious danger."

Summary

Sen. Bernie Sanders warned that media self-censorship and legal intimidation from Trump pose a major threat to press freedom.

He criticized CBS for reportedly considering a settlement in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview and ABC for paying $15 million to settle Trump-related defamation claims.

Sanders also condemned Trump’s lawsuit against a pollster for unfavorable election polling.

Media owners have faced scrutiny for restricting anti-Trump coverage, fueling concerns that press freedoms are eroding even before any government crackdown.

  • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    18·
    15 hours ago

    As someone who worked at an NBC, an ABC, and a FOX affiliate during the Bush years…

    Those ones were irreparably tainted 20 years ago.

    I remember when the New York Times sat on the NSA illegal wiretapping story for over a year for the Bush admin, and then when the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper claimed they weren’t spying on Americans “not wittingly,” that prompted Snowden to make his leaks because he knew DNI Clapper was lying to congress.

    • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      15 hours ago

      But that’s willing cooperation to quash a story and curry favor with the administration. I’m not defending it. I’m just saying the two are not the same. This is bending the knee to Trump out of fear of retaliation, which has already borne fruit. The former is willingly holding back the story because you want to. This is holding back the story because you have to.

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        4·
        14 hours ago

        And I’m saying the first begets the second.

        You don’t become a media organization that bends the knee overnight, it’s a death by a thousand cuts. Those cuts are things like sitting on a story for the government when you don’t have to.